THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS

Can you save an innocent scholar from those who woulduse his knowledge for evil?

When passing through a major city, you’reapproached by the envoy of a powerful church. Theadept tells you of a great sage, Khor’yn. For yearsKhor’yn had been trying to decipher long-forgottenrituals of the church — spells of tremendous power.Now the sage has disappeared, and the adept fearsthat he has been kidnapped. The church will pay aconsiderable sum if you find the sage and deliverhim safely to the high priests. Can you locate themissing scholar and free him from his prison? Andwhat will you do when Khor’yn reveals that thechurch that sent you has its own sinister plans forhim? If you decide to turn against the church, youmay have to deal with the other bounty hunters sentafter you!

THE SILENT PRISONER

What secrets are locked in the head of a crippled prisoner?

Doppelgangers are mercenary creatures, often sell-ing their services to the highest bidder. But what dothey do when they aren’t working as spies or imper-sonating princes? When you stop at a roadside inn,you discover that it’s actually a nest of “off-duty”doppelgangers. You manage to escape, but in theprocess you make a strange discovery. Theshapeshifters were keeping a prisoner in the inn.This man has been blinded, his tongue and handshave been removed, and his face has been horriblydisfigured; he cannot speak, write, or see. Why arethe doppelgangers keeping him alive? Are theyholding him for someone else, or do they have agreater agenda of their own? Who is he, and whatterrible secrets are locked in his brain? The answersmay be more dangerous than the doppelgangersthemselves.

BINDING

One notable spell not mentioned elsewhere in thissection is binding. A binding spell can hold a victim

entrapped for years — but because of the many dif-ferent forms it can take, it’s not especially suited toany one particular style of prison. A fortress of justicecould certainly have a hidden vault containing pris-oners held in bound slumber. On the other hand, ifyou have the power to trap an enemy in bound slum-ber, you could just lock your prisoner in a closet; she’snot going anywhere. The question is whether youhave to worry about other people breaking in to res-cue her.

ADVENTURESIN PUNISHMENTIn an ideal world, you won’t have your hands cut offor spend years in a prison. But there are still manyinteresting ways by which a criminal past can be tiedinto an adventure. Being trapped in the“inescapable prison” of an evil nation can make fora very interesting adventure; having to find a way tobreak out without access to your usual equipmentand spellbooks can be a difficult challenge.Alternately, you could play out an entire mini-cam-paign within a fortress prison. Perhaps you and yourfriends are prisoners of war; you have one week toplan and execute a massive prison break in order tosupport a military offensive. Can you rally the otherprisoners and overcome the guards using only yourwits and diplomatic skills?

There are many other ways that punishments can drivethe direction of an adventure. If you’re excommunicat-ed by your church, you’ll have to find a way to atone foryour actions — and if your punishment wasn’t deserved,you’ll have to fight the corruption within the churchhierarchy.

Scourge is another spell that can give you a cleargoal; when you fall victim to a vile curse, you’ll haveto find out who your enemy is and what you have todo to lift the spell. Or perhaps you return to yourhome village, and no one remembers who you are— clearly steal the painful memory has been used,but for what reason? And why did the townsfolk goalong with it?

WEB ENHANCEMENT

CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Another possibility is to add a criminal past as part ofyour character’s background. Are you an exile fromyour ancestral homeland? Have you been branded fora crime you didn’t commit? Such a flaw can add aninteresting level of depth to you character. Why wereyou exiled, and from where? Were you a criminal, andif so have you truly seen the error of your ways? Or areyou a political renegade — maybe an elder son exiledby your jealous brother, who sought to usurp thethrone of your father? Thinking about these questionscan give you new material for roleplaying, and canprovide your GM with lots of plot hooks she can workinto future adventures.

ADVENTURE SEEDS

Punishment can influence the direction of a story evenif you aren’t the one being punished. Here are a fewstory ideas to consider — more ways in which theforces of justice could have an influence on your future.

THE SCOURGE OF AGES

Can you reassemble a lost artifact in time to save a cursedprince?

Lady Blue is said to be an avatar of the goddess oftrickery. When the young Prince of Corland mockedher power, she placed him under a powerful curse:with each day that passes, the prince ages one year.

The royal physicians believe that he has only onemonth to live. Lady Blue has said that the curse will belifted if the Spiral Codex is reassembled — but thepages of the Codex were scattered and hidden cen-turies ago. The kingdom is depending on you — canyou locate the hidden pages in time to save the prince?And even if you do, what powers may be unleashed ifthe dark book is restored? There was a reason it wasdestroyed, after all!

TEARS OF STONE

When you’re sent to rescue a petrified spy, what else will youfind in his prison of stone?

The sorcerers of Torhyn rule their domain with a fistformed of magic and steel. Rumors abound that themagi are preparing for war, and the Duke of Fellvalerecently sent a number of spies to investigate the realmof magic. Only one spy escaped; she believes that oneof her comrades made a critical discovery, but he wascaptured and imprisoned in a stone garden (seeChapter Nine). Now the duke has turned to you forassistance. Can you find a way to break into the prisonvault and locate the petrified spy? And if you’re suc-cessful, what else will you find in the vault? Whatancient heroes or legendary mystics are trapped in thegarden, passing the centuries in the prison of stone?Releasing these stone sentinels may be the key tobreaking the power of the sorcerer-kings.

Also in this series:

DYNASTIES & DEMAGOGUESChris Aylott’s exploration of political adventures for the d20 System won this

book the coveted EN World Award for Best Rules Supplement! See what everyone

has been raving about!

IISSBBNN 1-58978-033-7, SSttoocckk NNoo:: AG3220, SSRRPP 29.95

LOVE & WARMedieval scholar and game designer David Chart (Splintered Peace) brings

d20 System players everything that necessary to bring chivalry, gallantry, and rivalry

to the table with this player’s sourcebook of knights at court and at war!

Coming in November, 2003!

SSttoocckk NNoo:: AG3226, SSRRPP 29.95

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“Crime and Punishment Web Enhancement,” an excerpt fromCrime and Punishment, Copyright 2003, Trident, Inc. d/b/a AtlasGames; Author Keith Baker.

Crime & Punishment Now available!

The anticipated next book in our Campaign Styles seriesis here! This is a look at the law and how it can be used byand against your character in any d20 System campaign!

By Keith Baker!

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Stock Number: AG3223 : ISBN: 1-58978-039-6160 pages : Hardcover

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